Popular-Pastor to set aside €2.31B to meet rules

MADRID (MarketWatch)
Spain's Banco Popular Espanol SA said Monday it will set aside EUR2.31 billion to meet new provisioning requirements for the country's lenders
Popular, which recently took over regional lender Banco Pastor, said the new measures will result in a EUR1.7 billion hit to its own earnings, and EUR619 million for its Pastor unit
Under a plan announced Friday, the government will require banks to increase provisions to cover potential losses from loans to real-estate developers not currently considered to be at risk of default
In a regulatory filing, Popular said it will has two years to comply with the higher provisioning needs
The country's fifth-biggest lender by market value said it ruled out asking for state aid to cover the cost of the provisioning hike